Kew Palace, in the Royal Botanic Gardens
at Kew, is currently closed to visitors. It is perhaps the least known
of our palaces but it is now undergoing one of the most significant building
conservation projects of recent years which will ensure the building's
preservation for future generations.

The recently completed exterior restoration
has dramatically altered the appearance of Kew Palace. Far from being
a new approach, this work actually marks a return to a long tradition
of decoration that began when the house was first built. It is the result
of a programme of research and repair work undertaken in 1997-8 by Historic
Royal Palaces.

When the palace was built in the 17th century,
the builders had difficulty making the brickwork look
neat. Bricks were not made in standard sizes, so the mortar between them
had to be thicker in some
places and thinner in others. To disguise this, they pressed a thin straight
groove in the mortar
between each line of bricks and coated the building in brick-coloured
limewash. The result was
dramatic: the shadows cast in the thin grooves and the use of one colour
made the brickwork look
very tight and neat. This process was repeated until about 1880. Each
time the colour of the
limewash was matched to the changing colour of the ageing bricks and the
colour of any new bricks
added to the building.

The recent restoration work
has followed this tradition and the colour of the limewash has been carefully
matched to the brickwork. This limewash protects the older layers of colour
beneath, without destroying or damaging anything. The general appearance
of the palace is now much closer to the original intentions of its builders.

Research into the interior decoration of
the palace and its history is now under way. This will
determine how the building will be presented to the public when it reopens
in 2001.

Queen Charlotte's Cottage is also in the
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and is open to visitors every
summer weekend. The cottage was enjoyed by King George III and his wife,
Queen Charlotte, as a
picnic place and home to their menagerie of exotic animals. Its pretty
interiors are decorated with
paintings, probably by George's daughter, Princess Elizabeth.

Entrance to Queen Charlotte's Cottage is
included in the admission price to the Royal Botanic Gardens.